Edmonton Journal: We’ve seen the news about Paul Oliver and whenever these things happen people start to think about the ties that concussions or brain trauma might have had in that death. You’ve taken a lot of hits this year. Do concussion issues concern you?

Mike Reilly: I don’t think you can ignore it. There’s a lot of things that have gone on today with athletes who eventually end up taking their lives and it’s very sad. I think there are a lot of factors that can go into that and certainly head trauma they’ve found is one of the big ones and that’s certainly something that you know is a risk when you’re playing this game. Even now you look at the measures they’ve taken to protect guys from taking bad head shots, whether it’s quarterbacks or other players on the field. I think the awareness is coming around about it, but it’s not ever going to be eliminated from the game, because contact is what makes the game great. As much as you want to try to curb it, sometimes these things happen.

It’s something that you know you have to be aware of. If you stick your head in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist then you’re just fooling yourself. I think it’s something that I know about and a lot of guys do and it’s something you’re aware of and concerned about but it doesn’t change the way that I play. You can’t go out there and have that at the front of your mind and play your best ball.

I think another thing too that is difficult for pro athletes is that once they’re done playing, this is something most of us have known for our entire lives. I’ve been playing football since I was seven. I have a great support system with my family, my girlfriend, my relatives, my friends, where when football is over and I’m no longer able to play I feel I can readjust back into society if you will, but that makes me nervous too.

That is something that you’ve been doing your entire life and all of a sudden it’s taken away and you can no longer play at the level that you’ve been doing for your entire life. There’s nothing you can do about it and now you have to figure out what you’re going to do with the rest of your entire life and that’s almost a more nerve wracking thought than the head issues. You have to change your entire life, you know what I mean?

Most jobs you can do until you retire at the age of 65 or whatever and this is one of the few jobs that you do until it’s done. There’s a lot of issues with depression and you have to deal with those issues as well, but the toll, the physical toll that the body takes is something that you always are aware of, that it can be an issue. I don’t think it’s something that our generation is going to have to deal with as much as the generation before us. I’ve seen some of the guys that have played old-time football.

I’ve played golf with (Danny) Kepley and he was one of the most bruising linebackers in the history of the game. It’s a privilege to be able to even have a conversation with him let alone play golf with him and you see how tough he is out there swinging the club and stuff like that but you see with guys that have played the game for so long and so hard, the toll that it does take on the body.

It’s something you hope that by the time you get to that age, that medicine and technology has gotten to the point where things are a bit easier, but it’s sad. It’s sad anytime you hear about something like that. That’s tough stuff, because people kind of forget about them. When you retire your name may be on a wall, you might be in the hall of fame, but really on a day-to-day basis you’re not in the limelight anymore and I’m sure those guys were left to deal with effects that they weren’t prepared to deal with and it’s tough.

EJ: Do you think it’ll get better in the next 10 to 15 years? You see guys from that generation are encouraged to come out of games when previous generations it wasn’t an option.

MR: They’ve done a much better job. Even this year with some of the hits I’ve taken, I’ve felt 100 per cent fine immediately afterwards but right after I’ve come off of the sidelines, (for a hit) that I didn’t even think looked bad or anything like that and as soon as I come off the doc and the training staff is there to take a look and make sure. It kind of catches me off guard sometimes. ‘Why are they even talking with me or asking me these questions? It wasn’t even that bad of a hit.’ You look at the replay and it maybe didn’t look super-vicious, but they’re being cautious with things.

It’s a bit frustrating at times for a guy like me sitting on the sidelines trying to convince them I’m fine, ‘Leave me alone,’ but it is a bit reassuring to know that if something happens at some point they’re going to catch it and I’m not going to be able to hide it from them, they’ll know. That’s one of the steps that this league and the NFL have taken that have been very big positives.

EJ: I saw a stat this week about how a lot of football players will fully admit to not being forthright about their concussion symptoms. Do you see that in your experiences?

MR: I do. I’m not going to say that I would necessarily do that because I don’t want our staff to read that and take me out, but I know for me personally I don’t want to ever come out of a game and I know many people share that same mentality in both leagues. When you have a competitive nature and you’re playing a game for your living, you’re getting paid to do a job and teams, medical staff are always doing a much better job of understanding if you have a head injury that you have to come out of the game. It’s not going to be frowned upon but for me personally, I feel like I want to be out there and sometimes it takes someone with a bit more knowledge than you in the medical industry to tell you you can’t.

It’s reassuring to know that those guys are out there, but there’s no doubt in my mind that at least a percentage of guys are not going to be forthright about their injuries. The type of guys that become professional athletes are very driven, very motivated guys and for the most part they don’t want to come out and want to stay on the field.

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